How does a young brother like myself get to 91直播? More importantly, why? I鈥檒l admit, when I visited 91直播 for the first time in the spring of 2014, I hated it. I remember skipping one of my scheduled meetings to go shoot some shots at the basketball court in Philips gymnasium. After some time, the small college town grew on me, and I loved it.
The transition from high school to undergrad was a tough one. As a first-generation college student, matriculating into 91直播 College meant that both my family and I will obtain the college experience at the same time. See, college was nothing but a distant thought growing up, but it became a reality in 2014. So, again, how and why did I go to 91直播?
贬别谤别鈥檚&苍产蝉辫;HOW: Posse.
The Posse Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that provides four-year full-tuition leadership scholarships, additional mentorship and resources, and 9 to 10 colleagues who you go to college with, as a Posse. In fact, the founder of Posse, Deborah Bial 鈥減roposed a model to identify promising students from鈥rban backgrounds using an alternative set of qualities as predictors of success in college鈥 aside from the traditional standardized test and GPA standards. The inception of Posse came from the idea that if any student had a Posse with them throughout their collegiate journey, they would graduate. This is integral to their philosophy. Visit the to learn more about it.
It took three high-stakes interviews and eighteen years of life experiences to get Posse (shoutout to Posse 8) and eventually attend 91直播. You get to choose three of the schools Posse partners with. 91直播 was my second choice. The University of Wisconsin-Madison was the first and Pomona College my third. I chose 91直播 as one of my top three because of its academic curriculum built on the values of critical thinking and its small classroom environment.
When I received the phone call right after the third interview during the winter of 2013, the Posse trainers and 91直播 representatives asked for my feedback on the final interview process. Startled, I gave them my feedback. To my surprise, the next words were: 鈥淐ONGRATULATIONS! You--.鈥 Actually, my mind went blank then. I was in shock. I froze for about ten seconds before I responded with gratitude. I should tell my parents. Wait, but how am I going to tell them I鈥檒l be moving to Ohio? To be honest, I should鈥檝e been thinking about how I would be able to make the move to a small rural college town in Ohio.
叠耻迟&苍产蝉辫;丑别谤别鈥檚&苍产蝉辫;WHY: My parents.
This short journey from Chicago to Ohio didn鈥檛 seem like a big deal to them. They emigrated to the US from Mexico in the late 1980s. That journey was much longer and harder. When I complained to them how difficult it would be to go from the block we live at in Little Village to the small rural town in Ohio, they made me realize how fortunate I was that I knew what my destination was and what it looked like. They didn鈥檛 have that privilege. Many immigrant narratives do not include planned destinations other than going 鈥榥orth鈥 or traveling out to the US mainland.
Both of my parents are two of the hardest working people I鈥檝e ever known. They鈥檝e worked a myriad of different jobs and have learned various unique skills in the process. But they came to the US in search for better social conditions and economic opportunities. Unfortunately, access to a 鈥榝ormal鈥 American education was scarce for first-generation immigrants. Despite knowing this and understanding that systemic inequality barred them from obtaining an education in the US, my parents valued education more than anything.
I didn鈥檛 buy it at first. School was boring. I hated it and so did many of my classmates. But they instilled in me two vital qualities needed for learning: critical thinking and problem solving. I was always a thinker and always asked questions. I liked to solve things like adding up the cost of groceries in my head to make sure we didn鈥檛 surpass our budget or offering advice to others. I developed these qualities and teachers persistently pushed me to apply them in school coursework. I did this and it helped me do better in school.
My motivation to come to one of the most prestigious liberal arts college in the country came from the familial lineage of movement and knowledge that my parents passed down to me. Only this time it was an academic journey. A journey supported and funded by 91直播 and Posse.
For what it鈥檚 worth, I gave 91直播 an opportunity to grow on me, and it did. As a former Obie and lifetime friend of mine said, 鈥91直播 wasn鈥檛 my first choice, but it was the best choice.鈥 A choice that has transformed an urban city kid into a small town academic scholar.
